Two US marines will stand trial following the killing of 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha, the worst incident of alleged war crimes involving US troops in Iraq, officials said Monday.
Sergeant Frank Wuterich will face charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault and dereliction of duty in connection with the November 2005 incident, which saw unarmed men, women and children shot dead by marines.
First Lieutenant Andrew Grayson will face lesser charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice, a statement released by the Marines from their Camp Pendleton base in southern California said.
More serious charges of unpremeditated murder against Wuterich were dismissed. Allegations that the staff sergeant asked another Marine to help cover up the alleged killings were also dropped.
Prosecutors have alleged marines went on an indiscriminate killing spree in Haditha, west of Baghdad on November 19, 2005 in the hours after a roadside bomb attack on a military convoy that tore a popular comrade in half.
Initial reports of the incident by the marines said 15 people had died in a roadside bombing. But an investigation published later by Time magazine contradicted the official version of events, prompting two deeper probes.
In December last year, the Marine Corps announced charges against eight soldiers. Four officers were accused of failing to probe the deaths properly, while four soldiers were charged with murder.
However military prosecutors have faced enormous difficulty in making the charges against the soldiers stick, hampered by a lack of forensic evidence and witness statements made several months after the events in question.
Of the eight soldiers and officers initially charged in connection with the incident, four have seen the charges dismissed.
Of the four remaining servicemen facing courts martial next year, two will stand trial on charges of manslaughter while two officers will be tried for failing to properly investigate the circumstances of the killings.
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